What Is Boxing Day? History And Facts About The Holiday

As many Americans get over the holiday hump on Wednesday, Canada, the U.K., and Commonwealth countries around the globe will celebrate Boxing Day.

Boxing Day, taking place the day after Christmas on Dec. 26, is the day that employers give their workers Christmas presents to celebrate the holiday season. The gifts were called “boxes” and helped give the holiday its namesake, according to the Huffington Post.

While Boxing Day has been celebrated for centuries, its origin is not fully understood. Some believe it started with British servants that prepared Christmas dinners and took home boxes of gifts, money, and food the next day, which they had off to celebrate the holidays, USA Today reports.

While Boxing Day is known as a day of gifts, in Canada, the U.K., and Australia, it is now known as the day that these residents scour the stores for deals, similar to Black Friday in the U.S., according to the Huffington Post. Stores open early on Boxing Day and prices are discounted on many of the items that consumer coveted but did not get on Christmas Day. Some people wait until Boxing Day to buy their gifts because of the deals that can be found this day, according to USA Today.

Countries such as Germany, Poland, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands celebrate Boxing Day as their second Christmas Day, extending the holidays even longer, according to the Huffington Post. Others use Boxing Day as a day of hunting that is typically followed by a drink in a pub, reports USA Today.

In the U.K., Boxing Day is a government-mandated holiday. If it falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, then the following Monday is the observed Boxing Day holiday. It has been a holiday in the U.K. and Wales since 1871, with Scotland finally allowing it as a day off in 1974. Ireland has been celebrating it as an official holiday since 1871, but it is called St. Stephen’s Day instead.